Advice on GS Schools

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tand
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2012 8:53 pm

Advice on GS Schools

Post by tand »

Hi,
My DS is preparing for 11 plus and currently in north east (Newcastle).
We are planning for RGS (Buckinghamshire) and Slough grammars as planning to move to Buck at later of this year. I understand that these schools have catchment policy. Please can you advice whether any GS school doesn;t have catchment policy and admission will be based purely on exam score as I am flexible to move and not specific for Bucks.

Please advice.

Thanks
Guest55
Posts: 16254
Joined: Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:21 pm

Re: Advice on GS Schools

Post by Guest55 »

Welcome to the forum.

All Buckinghamshire schools have catchment areas and places are allocated on distance once the qualifying score is reached. RGS does have a few boarding places though.

When the new Admissions booklet comes out do check when you will have needed to complete your move so that the new address will be used for March allocations.
scary mum
Posts: 8840
Joined: Mon Mar 15, 2010 3:45 pm

Re: Advice on GS Schools

Post by scary mum »

There were some answers in your previous post about this, but people outside Bucks may not have seen it. Some of the information you won't might be in the regions section here:

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/schools/regions" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
scary mum
Okanagan
Posts: 1706
Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2011 9:20 pm
Location: Warwickshire

Re: Advice on GS Schools

Post by Okanagan »

The Birmingham grammars don't have catchment areas.
tand
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2012 8:53 pm

Re: Advice on GS Schools

Post by tand »

All,

Thanks for responses. For birmingham, is it central exam which will be applicable for all schools (like buckinghamshire) or individual exam for each school?

For partial selective schools - it says specific percentage's (%) on general ability. Does it mean % seats will filled based on score?

If it's correct then what about rest %?

or am i missing the point...

thanks
Amber
Posts: 8058
Joined: Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:59 am

Re: Advice on GS Schools

Post by Amber »

As a lover of the North East, and someone who spent some of her best years in that great city of Newcastle, I can't imagine why anyone would want to leave it and come and live down south if they had a choice.

We have no catchment areas in Gloucestershire either, and Newcastle won't be the furthest anyone has come from to sit the test. But beware the culture shock if you move from there to here - sure it's pretty and all that, but there are 2 sides to every coin.
Averagedad
Posts: 79
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Advice on GS Schools

Post by Averagedad »

Hi tand,

My wife and I were asking the same question back in July 2009, because our elder boy won't have a chance if there's a catchment policy - we lived in Australia, over 10,000 miles away!

In the end, we picked three schools, one of which is the Colyton Grammar School in Devon (South West) with about 1 in 4 chance of getting in.
http://www.colytongrammar.devon.sch.uk/ ... -stats.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Its ranking in the BBC's league tables are,
GCSE Ranking, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-21165938" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A Level Ranking, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-21171282" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The breakdown of individual subjects are,
GCSE, http://www.colytongrammar.devon.sch.uk/ ... /index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
A level, http://www.colytongrammar.devon.sch.uk/ ... levels.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


ONLY IF THERE IS A TIE FOR THE LAST AVAILABLE PLACE due to the applicants having identical scores, then the following priority order will be used as a tie-breaker:
Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children
Proximity to the school as measured by a straight line from the main school entrance to the house address of the applicant using Google Earth©

(For details, please visit the school's link, http://www.colytongrammar.devon.sch.uk/ ... /index.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

(Its open day is coming, please refer to the Headteacher's Blog, http://headcgs.wordpress.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)

Hope the above help.

Good Luck.

Best wishes
Average Dad
PS We enjoy living near the seaside, the open space, the warmer weather and the peaceful neighbourhood (http://www.colyfordvillage.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;)
Together We Build a Happier & Safer World
tand
Posts: 61
Joined: Sun Dec 02, 2012 8:53 pm

Re: Advice on GS Schools

Post by tand »

thanks averagedad,
will see for colyton and it appears that it says qualifying marks are 100%!!!

all,
please can you advice for london / b'ham schools and my query related to partial selective.

thanks
Averagedad
Posts: 79
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2012 8:40 pm
Contact:

Re: Advice on GS Schools

Post by Averagedad »

Hi tand

The 100% you've seen from the following link does NOT mean the 120 children got accepted all got 100% mark in the school's 11+.
http://www.colytongrammar.devon.sch.uk/ ... -stats.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It only means that the 120 candidates being offered a place at the school ALL have accepted the offer (i.e. 100% acceptance of the offer)

You may wish to know that in the 2012 test, only 95 candidates were in Category A (i.e. 'passed' all 3 papers), who were offered a place in mid Oct last year. And there were 50 candidates in Category B, with the Top 25 candidates from this Category B were offered a place on 1 March.

You may also wish to know that 3 friends of mine (I know them through my elder boy as their children are in the same intake year) moving all the way from Yorkshire, Surrey and London just for this school. Another friend lives in Mill Hill (NW7) London , her child could NOT get in Mill Hill County School even though her child got a standardised score of 137 in its 2009's 11+.

Good luck.

Best wishes
Average Dad
Better Informed, Better Chance
Together We Build a Happier & Safer World
ToadMum
Posts: 11945
Joined: Wed Jan 18, 2012 12:41 pm
Location: Essex

Re: Advice on GS Schools

Post by ToadMum »

Partially / semi-selective schools admit (up to) a certain percentage of their intake via some form of entrance test. The rest of the places not being dependent on the result of testing, but allocated according to published criteria if the school is oversubscribed ("Looked after" children have to come first). Unlike fully-selective schools, partially-selectives are not allowed to keep "selective" places empty if not enough children want them or qualify for them.

Just curious, but is Newcastle and its schools really so awful that almost anywhere else must be better???
Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read.Groucho Marx
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